Welcome to my Southern Ocean site. 2001 saw the launch of a new sister
site to 'The Southern Ocean' which I hope many of you will find both easy
to use and informative. Please visit the site at GreenHouse
Gas Online.org and have a look around.

The Southern Ocean plays a key role in absorbing some of the carbon dioxide
released due to human activities, yet it has recently been suggested that
its strength as a carbon sink may be decreasing (see
BBC article). At the University of Edinburgh we are now planning to introduce
a new MSc
in Carbon Management to examine this and other changes in the global carbon
balance and the ways we might better manage carbon to avoid dangerous climate
change.

If you're interested in Climate Change, find out about my new book:

'The Southern Ocean' has now surpassed 20,000 hits! Great to think that
the site is appreciated and thanks to all visitors past and present who have
dropped in to have a look. Like most web sites this one is far from perfect,
but I'm glad that those of you who have commented think it's good.

Below are some news links on scientific and conservation issues in the
Southern Ocean and Antarctica.

For those of you who have been awarded the 'Penguin Website Award' you
will be pleased to know that your sites have finally got links from the award
page.

Lastly, I'd like to recommend www.blackdogtextiles.com
- nothing to do with the Southern Ocean, but full of beautiful things nonetheless,
all made by my even more beautiful wife.

Dave Reay

This site contains photos of the harshest sea on Earth, The Southern Ocean.
Here you can see pictures of its mountainous seas, rugged islands, and the
penguins, seals and many other animals which live in this severe habitat.

This site also provides information on Southern Ocean natural history and
explores some of the threats to this unique environment, together with the
steps being taken to protect the Antarctic region.

Southern Ocean Science News

1st December 2003 - Ice Cold Eclipse

Antarctica has recently played host to a total eclipse of the Sun. Some keen
eclipse watchers paid large sums to get the chance to see the two minute eclipse,
though for scientists working on the continent it was a free and awe-inspiring
treat. More at BBC
online.

28th July 2003 - With Greatest Sympathy

A scientist working at the British Antarctic Survey's Rothera Station on
the Antarctic Peninsula tragically died last week as a result of an attack
by a leopard seal during a routine snorkelling mission. Kirsty Margot Brown,
28, was an experienced diver working for BAS. More at BAS.

28th July 2003 - Bigger Bullies (Source: Nature online 7/2003)

Global warming may threaten marine life in the Southern Ocean by allowing
the invasion of large predators which until now have been excluded from the
waters by their near-freezing temperature. Much of the marine fauna in water
surrounding Antartica is not adapted to cope with the faster predators, like
sharks, found in warmer waters. Read more at Nature
Online.

13th April 2003 - The Kraken Awakes (Source: BBC online 4/2003)

A huge squid has been caught in Antarctic waters, the first specimen of the
so called 'Colossal' Squid retrieved almost completely intact from surface
waters. Read more at BBC
Online.

6th April 2003 - Tell-tale Bubbles (Source: Nature online 3/2003)

Bubbles of the noble gas Argon trapped in the ancient ice layers of Antarctica
have revealed that, in past millenia, levels of the greenhouse gas carbon
dioxide in our atmosphere increased in response to a rise in global temperatures,
rather than the other way around. Read more at Nature
Online.

2nd March 2003 - Mobile Canteen (Source: New Scientist 3/2003)

Male King penguins are apparently able to store undigested food in their
stomachs for up to three weeks, so as to ensure a continual supply of food
for their chicks in the case of bad weather delaying the return of the female.
Read more at New
Scientist Online.

16th February 2003 - Penguin Poo Problem (Source: BBC Online 2/2003)

The first ever dwelling to be built on the Antarctic continent, a hut built
by Norwegian explorer Carsten Borchgrevink in 1899, is under threat from penguin
poo. Apparently the penguins are are using the sides of the hut as a mass
latrine and this is damaging the outer walls of the building. Read more at
BBC
Online.

26th January 2003 - Polar Highway (Source: New Scientist 1/2003)

Engineers from the US have begun working on a polar highway designed to connect
the large US base at McMurdo Sound with the base at the South Pole. The road
is expected to be completed in around two years time. Read more at New
Scientist Online.

Thousands of dead penguins are being washed up on Falkland Island shores.
It is feared that the birds may have suffered from the toxins produced by
the algal blooms, commonly known as 'Red Tides'. Read more at BBC
Online.

17th November 2002 - Penguin Problems (Source: BBC Online 11/2002)

Emperor penguins, the forebears of whom were visited by members of Robert
Scott's South Pole expedition, face a real danger of extinction as a result
of giant icebergs. The two bergs, known as B-15 and C19 have apparently broken
up the shore where the penguins normally breed. Read more at BBC
Online.

Australia has declared a huge area of remote sub-Antarctic waters a marine
reserve. The reserve, covering 6.5 million hectares should help to protect
a range of Southern Ocean species, inlcuding the southern elephant seal. Read
more at New
Scientist Online.

29th September 2002 - Penguin Napping (Source: Nature 09/2002)

Gerard Dewasmes, a French ecologist, has reported on the afternoon napping
habit of penguins. It seems that King Penguins on the Crozet Archipelago,
1000 km north of Antarctica, spend their afternoons either sleeping off their
dinner or just having a rest. Read more at Nature
Online.

18th September 2002 - Ozone Optimism (Source: Ananova 09/2002)

Researchers have reported that the ozone 'hole' above Antarctica is showing
signs of recovery. Levels of ozone destroying CFCs have begun to fall in the
area for the first time 20 years. There is now hope that sustained recovery
of the ozone layer over Antarctic will take place. Find out more at Ananova.

10th September 2002 - Heat Shock (Source: BBC Online 09/2002)

Lloyd Peck and colleagues, from the British Antarctic Survey, have reported
that many Southern Ocean invertebrate species may become extinct if warming
predictions for the region are correct. Read the full news article at BBC
online.

24th August 2002 - Wired Pole (Source: Ananova 08/2002)

High-speed internet access may soon be possible at the South pole, with
the US government seeking bids from industry to supply fibre-optic cable Internet
links to its South Pole base. Find out more at Ananova.

16th July 2002 - Anthrax in Antarctica (Source: Ananova 07/2002)

Anthrax spores have been discovered in a hut used by British Polar explorer
Robert Scott. Apparently the spores do not pose a health risk, but the hut
has been closed for a short time. The hut has seen thousands of visitors over
the years without any known cases of anthrax occurring. Find out more at Ananova.

14th July 2002 - Ice Trash (Source: Ananova 07/2002)

Clive Clasby, an environmental protection officer, has put his video diaries
of his work as an Antarctic rubbish collector online. Clive has been helping
to clear waste at bases on King George Island. Already over 100 tonnes of
scrap metal and the like have been successfully removed. Find out more at
Ananova.

3rd July 2002 - Ice Rescue Success (Source: Ananova 07/2002)

89 of the scientists and crew of the ice-locked Magdalena Olendorff have
been successfully rescued by the South African ship Agulhas. A further 18
crew have remained aboard to help free the ship from the ice when an ice-breaker,
currently on its way, reaches them. Find out more at Ananova.

20th June 2002 - Ice Rescue (Source: Ananova 06/2002)

Food rationing has been instigated on the trapped ship, the Magdalena Olendorff,
in Antarctica's Muskegbukta Bay. Rescue ships are on their way, but those
on board the trapped ship are playing things safe in case freeing them takes
longer than expected. Find out more at Ananova.

17th June 2002 - Ice Rescue (Source: Ananova 06/2002)

107 people are trapped aboard the Magdalena Olendorff, the ship was surrounded
by drifting ice in Muskegbukta Bay making progress impossible. A rescue mission
has been launched, with South African and Argentine ship planning to rendevouz
and break a path through the ice to the trapped ship, its 79 Russian scientists
and 28 crew. Find out more at Ananova.

24th May 2002 - Break up continues (Source: Ananova 05/2002)

Yet another berg has broken away from Antarctica. This time, a berg measuring
about 34 miles long and 7 miles wide has broken away from the Lazarev ice
shelf in the Weddell sea. For more information and related stories visit Ananova.

12th May 2002 - More Break Up (Source: Ananova 05/2002)

Another huge section of ice has broken away from the Ross Ice Shelf. The
new berg is said to be long enough to stretch across the English Channel and
continues a worrying trend of ice break up in the area. Whether global warming
is directly responsible remains open to debate, but the damaging impact such
break ups have on the local ecosystem is undeniable. See a satellite image
of the new break up at Ananova.

10th May 2002 - Hot and Cold Answer (Source: Ananova 05/2002)

A likely answer for the apparent paradox of rapid warming
on Antartica's peninsula and cooling in other areas has been found. It
seems that Antartica's ozone hole has led to changing wind patterns, with
the new winds causing both cooling and warming at ground level depending on
which part of Antarctica you are in. The finding complicates the issue of
whether global warming is indeed responsible for any of the observed warming
in Antarctica in recent years. Read more at Ananova.

30th April 2002 - Shadow of the Berg (Source: New Scientist 04/2002)

Huge icebergs, which resulted from the recent break up of the Larsen B ice
shelf (below), are affecting the ecosystem of Antartica's Ross Sea. The huge
amounts of surface ice are dramatically reducing phytoplankton growth by reducing
water circulation and light levels. Phytoplankton are key to the whole Southern
Ocean food chain, with large reductions in their numbers having a cascade
effect on the numbers of phytoplankton grazers, larger crustaceans (krill)
and eventually top predators like seals and penguins. Read more at New
Scientist.

21st April 2002 - Signs from Signy (Source: BBC News Online 01/2002)

A team from the British Antarctic Survey, including my old supervisor Cynan
Ellis-Evans (If you read this, hello Cynan), have reported dramatic effects
of temperature rise on the ecology of the lakes on Signy Island, Antarctica.
Signy Island lies at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, an area which has
seen rapid warming in recent decades. This warming has been most noticeable
in Signy's lakes where higher temperatures and increased nutrient inputs have
led to an increase in algal growth and a shift in lake ecology. Read more
at BBC
Online .

21st March 2002 - Larsen B no more (Source: New Scientist 03/2002)

The gigantic Larsen B ice shelf has broken away from the Antarctic peninsula
and has disintergrated into thousands of icebergs. It is estimated that around
500 million billion tonnes of ice broke away, all inside the space of a month.
Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey had predicted the collapse, but
the sheer speed of its disintegration has been incredible. The loss of Larsen
B, the largest in a series of such losses in the last decade or so, should
serve as a further warning to world governments that greenhouse gas emissions
must be reduced. Read more at New
Scientist.

12th March 2002 - Cold tap (Source: BBC News Online 02/2002)

UK scientists, from the University of East Anglia, have been studying the
flow of water around the Scotia Sea as part of a project designed to help
determine the role it plays in ocean circulation. They found that cold water
from the bottom is churned up to the surface as it circulates, helping to
cool the World's oceans. The full research article appears in the journal
Nature, but an overview can be found at BBC
News Online.

26th February 2002 - Eye in the Sky (Source: Nature news 02/2002)

Satellites have now made it possible to travel across Antarctica much more
safely. The satellites are able to pick up crevasses which on the ground might
remain unseen until disaster struck. The danger of such accidents has, until
now, meant supplies to the South Pole have had to be flown in. With this new
mapping tool reliable transport of supplies and people over the surface may
become possible. Read more at Nature
Online.

Data gathered since the 1950s shows an increase in mid-depth Southern Ocean
water temperatures. Sarah Gille from the Scripps Institute in the US reports
that between the 1950s and 1980s Southern Ocean waters within the Antarctic
Circumpolar Current warmed by around 0.17 degrees centigrade. The Southern
Ocean plays a critical role in global climate and such changes are therefore
worrying to say the least.

A US group has suggested that, contrary to current climate models, the Antarctic
is cooling down rather than warming up. The group have studied 35 years of
climate data, but their findings are disputed by other climate researchers.
The US group suggest that the recent cooling they have observed is having
a great impact on life in the Dry Valleys area of Antartica. Read more at
New Scientist.

12th January 2002 - probing the depths (Source: Nature News 12/2001)

Plans have been drafted for the first exploration of the water in Antarctica's
subglacial lakes. The lakes lie under ice around 4km deep and may harbour
forms of life never previously encountered. A big fear is that the techniques
used to study this unknown environment may contaminate the lakes with microorganims
from outside. Currently, much thought is being put into how this can be avoided
and further information is due to be released this Summer.

26th September 2001 - Life and Research in Antarctica (Source: BBC World
Service 6/2001)

During the Summer the BBC World Service opened its airwaves to the friends
and families of those who work in Antarctica. You can read about the programme
and hear the full broadcast online (including some Tom Jones!) by following
this link: Cold
Comfort.

The catalogue of damage which global warming may cause to widlife and the
environment in Antartica now includes overheated penguins. It seems that a
temperature rise of only a few degrees can greatly damage the Emperor penguin
population. With the poles likely to be hit by the largest increases in temperature
as a result of global warming, entire species may face extinction. To read
more about these findings visit The
Guardian Archive.

Richard Hollingham reports on his travels in Antarctica - updated every
day his diary allows you to join him in his polar exploits from the comfort
of your armchair. You can not only read Richard's reports, but can also see
some great pictures and hear commentary on topics ranging from extarterrestrial
life to tent living in Antarctica. Visit this great diary at Reporter's
Notebook.

The possibility of as yet unknown higher life forms existing in the depths
of Lake Vostok, Antarctica became stronger recently with the discovery of
seismic activity near the lake. Lake Vostok is about 4km below the frozen
surface of Antarctica and may support life forms never previously recorded.
The existence of bacteria and algae has previously been shown by a team under
the leadership of John Priscu, however many scientists felt that there would
be insufficient energy in such a deep lake to sustain higher life forms. The
discovery of seismic activity opens up the possibility that organisms similar
to those found around deep sea hydrothermal vents may exist. For more information
on this article visit New Scientist.

3rd February 2001 - Penguins Steady on their Feet (Source: BBC Radio
1/2001)

Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey, together with assitance from
the British Armed forces, have finally put to rest the urban myth that when
aircraft fly over Penguin colonies all their inhabitants become so fixated
on watching the plane pass over that they fall over like a row of dominoes.
In reality it seems that the Penguins simply go quiet until the plane has
passed out of sight.

Researchers from the University of Boulder, Colorado have shown that the
thawing and break up of the Antarctic ice shelves may be happening more rapidly
than previously thought. The study modelled the effect of meltwater ponds,
within ice shelves, on their rate of break up and found an increased threat
of ice shelf break up where these meltwater ponds occurred. For more information
on this article visit New Scientist.

The increasing danger to toothfish stocks, and to Albatross populations,
from illegal long line fishing in the Southern Ocean continues to be a high
conservation priority. Current fisheries protection policy does not appear
to be at all effective in protecting toothfish and bird poulations, including
already endangered albatross species, from the activities of 'pirate fishing'
in the Southern Ocean. Indeed, it is thought that such unregulated fishing
may account for two or three times the toothfish catch that is currently allowed
as a maximum quota.

A study into the way penguins get around on land has established why they
waddle. Apparently the waddle inducing combination of short legs and very
big feet, common to all penguins on land, is a great way to conserve energy
in the cold of Antarctica. For more information on this story visit The
Guardian Archive

Falkland Islands - Stark, wild, but beautiful.
Some of the wildlife of the Falkland Islands, the scars of the conflict and
the threats to this environment from over fishing and oil exploration.

South Georgia - Home to an amazing
array of penguins and seals, it also has many abandoned whaling stations.
This Southern Ocean island still remains largely untouched by man and provides
some great pictures, particularly the demise of whaling and the reclamation
of the whaling stations by weather and wildlife.

High Seas - The most powerful and forbidding
ocean on earth, the Southern Ocean (with icebergs!). Pictures from oceanic
voyages on the British Antarctic Survey ice breaking ship 'James Clark Ross'.

Seals - Seal numbers were seriously hit at
the beginning of the century, but they seem to be recovering now. Fur seals
and their pups. Even better are the pictures of elephant seals on South Georgia,
truly massive (and very smelly!).

Penguins There are many penguin rookeries
on the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. From burrowing Jackass penguins
to the proud looking King penguin, they are all wonderful (if a bit comic).

Science - Being a biologist I'm particularly
interested in the scientific side of the Southern Ocean and the ecology of
Antarctica. Find out more on this page.

Books - I've provided links to several books
about Antarctica and the Southern Ocean which I think are particularly useful.
You can also search through a wide range of books on related subjects here.

The Author - A bit of information about
me and why I've put this Southern Ocean site together.

Contact - If you would like to comment
on this web site or find links to other Southern Ocean and Antarctic sites
try the contacts page.